There are no do-overs in basketball. Sometimes, though, you get a chance to get it right the next time.
Friday night at the Doghouse was one such occasion.
The Senior Night crowd was hungry for spoiling Bedford North Lawrence’s party — led by senior guard Brayton Bailey, the Stars came to town on an eight-game winning streak and needing a victory to guarantee at least a share of the Hoosier Hills Conference title.
Trailing the entire game, the visitors from the Land of Damon had whittled a one-time 10-point deficit to 42-41 with less than 90 seconds to play after back-to-back threes from Kooper Staley and Ben Cosner.
Then, after Kaden Stanton’s free throw gave the Dogs a two-point lead with 21.5 seconds left, Bedford got the ball back with a chance to tie or win.
Deja vu time. Three Fridays ago against Evansville North, the visitors in-bounded the ball under their own basket with 2.1 seconds left. The Dogs failed to protect the three-point line and got gut-punched at the buzzer, 48-47.
A similar scenario suddenly materialized Friday night. After Cosner missed a three and New Albany knocked the ball out of bounds with 2.2 seconds left, Bedford was set to in-bound from the same spot.
Whether the Dogs actually thought about the last play of the North game is anyone’s guess, but guard the three point line they did. In-bounder Cosner, desperate to find an open teammate, got tricky and bounced the ball off defender Julien Hunter’s backside, with visions of scooping it up and sinking the game-winner from the right corner.
But the ball didn’t cooperate. It fell harmlessly to the floor. A rugby scrum ensued, time expired, and the Dogs 43-41 win was in the books.
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New Albany got off to a fast start, building leads of 11-5 and 16-9.
Bailey is the son of Hoosier basketball legend Damon Bailey, whose last high school loss came in the Doghouse 30 years ago. Damon is now an assistant coach for Bedford. Despite Maddox Schmelz’s dogged defense on the younger Bailey, the methodical Stars found ways to get the ball to their star, who scored 11 points as New Albany notched a 20-17 halftime lead.
The Dogs got a couple of bonus three-pointers from Schmelz in the third. The first came on the quarter’s opening sequence when Trey Hourigan whipped a cross-court pass to the right corner. Wide open, Schmelz buried the shot. Then, at the four-minute mark, Schmelz was again alone in the same corner. Tucker Biven made the delivery this time, and the three-pointer gave New Albany its largest lead at 33-23. Schmelz, shooting 23 percent from distance, has been a reluctant shooter.
“We’re at the point in the season where if people aren’t guarding him, he’s gonna have to step up and make shots,” New Albany coach Jim Shannon said. “Those were big.”
Bailey answered with three straight buckets to cut the lead to 33-29 after three quarters. Stanton’s three and two free throws from Biven pushed the lead back to nine, and the Dogs led 42-35 after Stanton hit two free throws with 3 minutes left. Bedford kept chipping and drew within one on Cosner’s three-pointer at 1:25.
After a New Albany turnover, Bailey got a good look in the lane, but his shot rolled off. Stanton then made one-of-two free throws, and Bedford came down to set up for the potential game-winner. After a near turnover, the Stars called time out with 8.6 seconds left, then worked Cosner open for a three-point attempt that barely missed.
Following another time-out, Bedford in-bounded under the basket. This time, however, the Dogs avoided the buzzer-beater.
Bailey hit 10-of-18 shots and led all scorers with 21 points. He went scoreless in the final period but had four assists. Stanton led New Albany with 20 points, and Biven scored 10.
The stat lines were similar. New Albany shot 12-of-26 from the field (46.1%), including 6-of-11 from distance. The Stars hit 17-of-35 overall (48.6%), including 4-of-9 from three.
Poor free throw shooting has cost the Dogs a few games this year, but they won it at the line on Friday. Biven was 5-for-5, Stanton 5-for-6, and the team 13-of-17 overall. Bedford got to the line only five times, making three.
With the Stars packing the lane, New Albany’s seniors had quiet nights in the scoring column. Hourigan scored four points on 2-of-6 shooting, while Julien Hunter had three points, all on free throws.
“I thought (the good early start) built our confidence,” Shannon said. “We had a great week of practice after the loss (at Providence). … I was very pleased with the effort tonight.”
New Albany (14-8, 5-2) could tie for a four-way share of the conference title if Jeffersonville (17-6, 5-1) happens to lose to Madison next week. Otherwise, the Dogs could finish tied for second with Bedford (14-9, 5-2) and Floyd Central (15-6, 5-1).
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Friday was a festive night at the Doghouse. Not only did New Albany honor a host of seniors including Hourigan and Hunter, the school also recognized former coach Kirby Overman, who led the Bulldogs to the state title in 1973. Overman was recently named to the HOF.
Senior Nights are bittersweet by definition, but Friday’s included a particularly poignant moment featuring Julien Hunter and his father, former Bulldog star Chad Hunter. Battling the effects of a stroke, Chad made a vow to walk out with Julien — and he did. Using a cane, Chad proudly made his way to center court, where he received a warm greeting from New Albany coach Jim Shannon and others.
“That was more emotional than I expected,” Julien, a four-year starter, said after the game, smiling. “I held it together, though.”
Hourigan, a three-year starter, said he couldn’t believe the years have gone by so fast.
“It was emotional at first because I was thinking I’ll never be on this court again. It was hard to focus on the game, but after we got started, I got into it and it felt just like a normal game,” he said.
“I’m very proud of both of them,” Shannon said. “They’re good kids and great leaders from great families.”
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New Albany closes out the regular season on Friday at Bloomington North, then travels to Seymour to open sectional play the following Tuesday.
The Dogs received a largely favorable of a draw, with Jeffersonville and Floyd Central on the other side of the bracket. If they Dogs beat Jennings County on Tuesday, they’ll get a rematch with Bedford on Friday.
“I think Jeff’s the most talented team,” Shannon said. “They just beat Ballard at Ballard and hit 14 threes. If they’re shooting the ball like that, they’re gonna be very difficult to stop.”
